VOX Box: Turtle Power 18
Characters * Old Hob * Qas * Baxter Stockman * Oroku Karai * Shredder * Hattori Tatsu * Prisoner * Splinter Location * TCRI, Star City, OR * November 26th 2016, 1852 Local Time VOX Archive * Shredder: footsteps How did you organize this so quickly? * Hattori Tatsu: Karai- * Shredder: Karai? * Oroku Karai: footsteps We had a meeting scheduled tonight with several key members in the criminal underworld concerning our uniting against Brick. I merely put the word out that there was a change of venue and opened our coffers. Anyone consenting to the blood test will be given a cash reward, and ten times that if they were found to be suitable candidates and agreed to phase two. * Shredder: Excellent work, daughter. * Qas: gasp under-breath: What are they-? * Oroku Karai: Something the matter, Qas? * Qas: Nothing to concern the Lady of the Foot. Though, if I may be excused- * Oroku Karai: So be it. * Qas: Thank you. door opens * ascending stairs, footsteps: 2 instances, footsteps descending stairs, door closes * Baxter Stockman: footsteps We have a problem, Shredder. * Shredder: What problem? * Baxter Stockman: We don't have enough candidates. * Hattori Tatsu: What? * Shredder: Explain, Dr. Stockman... * Baxter Stockman: hand tapping on glass You have... what... three hundred potential candidates down there? Well, statistically-speaking, only one in eight will have some sort of meta-gene. Not factoring in the quality of the meta-gene and other factors, thus assuming we go forward with anyone who has a meta-gene regardless of any and all other points, we're only going to have... thirty-five, maybe forty candidates for the actual experiment. * Hattori Tatsu: Then we only have forty. * Baxter Stockman: scoff I primed fifty doses for this. Once primed, these injections are only viable for forty-eight hours. We'll have wasted millions. scoff And we'll waste tens of millions if a handful of these candidates don't want to proceed to phase two. * Hattori Tatsu: scoff We pay them. * Baxter Stockman: Yeah, I get that... but... scoff If I gave you ten-grand, would you want me participate? * Hattori Tatsu: Hmmph... * Shredder: We need more test subjects. * Oroku Karai: What would you have us do, Doctor? * Baxter Stockman: Anyone who tests positive for the meta-gene, we should take to phase two. * Oroku Karai: Regardless of their consent? * Baxter Stockman: Just, I don't know, we'll tell them it's a second part of the blood test. Just confirming the initial findings. We won't tell them it's the actual experiment. pause Yes, that should work. * Shredder: So be it. * Oroku Karai: And what of the missing ten or fifteen test subjects, father? * Hattori Tatsu: We can test our own. * Shredder: '''No... We don't test our own until we know this process works as intended. * '''Hattori Tatsu: Understood, master. * Oroku Karai: The prisoners? * Shredder: Yes... Bring the prisoners out. Restrain them in the testing chamber and prepare them for dosing. * Baxter Stockman: I haven't tested any prisoners for the meta-gene. * Hattori Tatsu: So? * Baxter Stockman: sigh We agreed to perform the experiment on those with dormant meta-genes as they stood the best chance for surviving and catalyzing the mutagen which will allow us to create a more stable, human ready mutagen. * Shredder: We estimated how many will die? * Baxter Stockman: '''In this initial testing? Four of every five... Maybe more. It could be a ninety-percent fatality rate with this many sub-par candidates. * '''Shredder: We only need one with a stable biological catalyst. pause Bring the prisoners, daughter. If they die, so be it. Their deranged corpses will make for an ideal reminder of what happens whenever one defies the Shredder. * Oroku Karai: Understood, father. door opens, footsteps, footsteps descending stairs, door closes * Old Hob: You're going to make many enemies tonight. * Shredder: Yes. * Old Hob: You could jeopardize everything. footsteps * Hattori Tatsu: Watch your tongue. * Shredder: No, tatsu. Let the feline speak. * Old Hob: I'm just saying... tapping on glass Before the mutagen is administered, you should know who it is you're testing. shifting Most of the people down there are in gangs, crews, or criminal enterprises, right? If those taken into the testing hamber die, take the money you would have offered them double it, and give that to their gang, or boss, or whatever. chuckle A peace offering of a sort. * Shredder: An interesting idea... Though also an expensive one. * Old Hob: Cheaper than a war with every other gang in the city... scoff You piss off these gangs and they're going to unite with Brick. * Hattori Tatsu: Hmmph... The cat is right. * Shredder: Yes, I believe he is... So be it. Tatsu, see that the cat's plan is enacted. Let me know if any oppose the payment. * Hattori Tatsu: Understood. door opens * Shift * Splinter: pant, pant, chains rattling, sigh, pained gasp * Prisoner: rattling Oh... You are alive. * Splinter: groan Barely... * Prisoner: What are you? * Splinter: sigh I was once a man... Now, I am something else. * Prisoner: sigh I can relate... * Splinter: chains rattling You wear the mask and colors of the Al Muta Darib... An assassin in training. * Prisoner: Exactly... I used to be a normal kid and now... Now I'm a prisoner by my own stupid choices. * Splinter: sigh You defied the Shredder, didn't you? * Prisoner: The Shredder? No... I... I only ever saw him once. I, uh... sigh I tried to leave. * Splinter: I presume you mean you tried to defect. * Prisoner: Yeah... * Splinter: Why not instead pledge to become Almumin? Why defect if you knew the punishment for such a thing? * Prisoner: sigh Because... chuckle What am I doing?Why am I telling you this? scoff I don't know you. I don't even know what you are! * Splinter: My name is Splinter and I am a fellow prisoner offering to help you. * Prisoner: Help me? How are you going to help me? * Splinter: Neither of us will know unless you exercise some faith. * Prisoner: sigh Okay, sure... What do I have to lose? scoff I'm an idiot, that's basically my problem. I don't have any skills. I wouldn't make a good Almumin. chuckle Not that I'd make a good assassin either, but... at least that way I'd be able to take care of my sister. * Splinter: So you joined the Safinat Dakhma for your family... A noble thing. I did the same thing, so very long ago. * Prisoner: I don't know what the Sodapop Dockmon is, but if that's anything like the League of Assassins, then yeah... I did that. * Splinter: sigh Then you and I are borthers. Tell me, young one, what is your name? * Prisoner: Jason Schlegel. * Splinter: It is good to meet you, Jason. Tell me, where is your sister now? Do you know? * Prisoner: I don't know...chains rattling When I ran, I called her. I told her to meet me at this one park. We used to go there to play in the pond as children. sigh Only when I went to pick her up, she wasn't there... But Karai and her she-ninjas were there. sigh They told me if I didn't go willingly, that Lisa, that's my sister, Lisa Schlegel, wouldn't live to see another day. sigh So I surrendered myself and they brought me here. chains rattling That was like four weeks ago. * Splinter: Four weeks? chains rattling For desertion? pause Most unusual. * Prisoner: What do you mean? * Splinter: I do not mean to frighten you, Jason... but the penalty for desertion of the Foot Clan is always execution, unless... * Prisoner: Unless? * Splinter: A master postpones the sentence for some reason. * Prisoner: That makes sense... There's a whole bunch of prisoners in the basement. It's filled beyond capacity. That's why they got me here with you. pause But, like, what reason could they have for doing that? * Splinter: What reason indeed? Hmm... * Prisoner: So, why they got you in here anyway? What's with all those tubes and that machine? Is that like taking your blood? * Splinter: Yes... Oroku Saki spilled my blood in the past and now, it seems, he wishes to harvest it. * Prisoner: Dude, that's creepy... sigh I'm sorry, dude. Like, I don't know you, but I think that's a pretty messed up thing to do, even to a giant rat. pause No offense, man- rat- whatever. nervous chuckle * Splinter: No offense taken, Jason. rattling Hmm? * Prisoner: What is it? I don't hear anything. * Splinter: Yes, well, you do not have the size of ears that I do. Someone is coming... Quiet now. * Oroku Karai: opens, footsteps You there. * Prisoner: Me? * Oroku Karai: Yes, you... beep, beep, beep, beep, buzz, click, keys jingling, footsteps My father has need of your presence upstairs. rattling, grapple Follow me. 2 instances As for you, rat... Farewell. footsteps: 2 instances, door closes * Splinter: Farewell... chains rattling, tail slipping out of chains, chains rattling, sigh, tail sliding on concrete, groan A bit further... slap, tail slap Focus... beep No. beep, beep, beep Ah, the first number. beep, beep The third... beep Fourth. Trivia and Notes * Story continues from VOX Box: Turtle Power 17. * Story continues in VOX Box: Turtle Power 19. Links and References * VOX Box: Turtle Power 18 Category:VOX Box Category:Old Hob/Appearances Category:Jennika Smith/Appearances Category:Baxter Stockman/Appearances Category:Oroku Karai/Appearances Category:Oroku Saki/Appearances Category:Hattori Tatsu/Appearances Category:Mondo Gecko/Appearances Category:Splinter/Appearances Category:Foot Clan/Appearances Category:TCRI/Appearances Category:Star City/Appearances